Heinrichs Names Roster for Sept. 8 Match vs. Scotland

NewsAug 23, 2002

CHICAGO (Friday, August 23, 2002) â€” U.S. Womenâ€™s National Team head coach April Heinrichs has named the 24 players who will come to Columbus, Ohio, for four days of training before the U.S. faces Scotland on Sept. 8, 2002, at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The match, which is presented by KitKat, will kickoff at 1 p.m. ET and be broadcast live on ESPN.

Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster locations in Ohio and the surrounding states and by phone at 614-431-3600. Tickets are also available at the Crew Stadium ticket office (open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. â€“ 5 p.m.). Tickets prices are $18 (endline), $25 (sideline), $35 (midfield) and $45 (club seats). For information on group rates, please call 312-528-1249. Complete ticket information is available at ussoccer.com.

It will be the first-ever meeting in womenâ€™s soccer between the two countries and an important preparation match for the Americans as they move towards the 2002 Nike U.S Womenâ€™s Cup and the 2002 CONCACAF Womenâ€™s Gold Cup, which will serve as 2003 Womenâ€™s World Cup Qualifying, later in the fall.

Mia Hamm, the worldâ€™s all-time leading scorer with 130 goals, will come to her second national team event of the year fresh off a dazzling season with the Washington Freedom in which she came back from knee surgery to lead her team the WUSA championship game. Another Freedom star, goalkeeper Siri Mullinix, who was the USAâ€™s starter at the 2000 Olympics, makes her return to the national team. The second most capped goalkeeper in U.S. history with 31 games has not played for the national team since July 3, 2001, during a 1-1 tie with Canada in what was her only appearance that year. Fellow goalkeeper Briana Scurry will be attending her second national team event of the year after getting 45 minutes of action against Norway on July 21 in her first appearance since August of 2000.

Kristine Lilly, the worldâ€™s all-time caps leader with a staggering 236 games played, also returns to the national team after missing the last match against Norway due to WUSA club commitments. The U.S. squad also features an Ohio link as Cincinnatiâ€™s Heather Mitts was named to the roster. Mitts has played two splendid professional seasons with the Philadelphia Charge and will be looking for her third career cap.

Defender Christie Pearce, who started all five games at the 2000 Olympics, gets her first call-up since suffering an ACL tear at the end of the 2001 WUSA season. Pearce, who has 91 caps, remains the only player who played collegiately at a small soccer school (Monmouth in N.J.) to achieve success with the U.S. Womenâ€™s National Team.

Heinrichs named just two college players to the roster in UCLA defender Nandi Pryce and University of Washington goalkeeper Hope Solo, who joins Mullinix, Scurry and LaKeysia Beene to make up one of the most talented goalkeeping quartets in the world. The call-up of Pryce, who has eight caps for the full national team, represents a significant milestone in her comeback from a broken leg. Pryce and Solo were key players for the U.S. U-21 National Team that won the Nordic Cup in Finland at the end of July. Several college players who have been consistent call-ups, including defender Cat Reddick of UNC and midfielder Aly Wagner of Santa Clara, will stay with their college teams, but are still in the picture for selection to play in the Nike U.S. Womenâ€™s Cup in October.

Should midfielder Lorrie Fair make the 18-player roster for the match and see time, she will become the 14th U.S. womenâ€™s player and second youngest to play 100 times for her country.

Danielle Slaton, the youngest member of the 2000 Olympic Team, will also return to the national team after missing the Norway match with an injury. Heinrichs also called up WUSA Rookie of the Year Abby Wambach of the Freedom as well as Philadelphia Charge rookie Stacey Tullock, who will be making her first appearance with the full national team. Veterans Tiffeny Milbrett, the two-time Chevrolet U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year, and Joy Fawcett, were not called in due to commitments during the WUSA off-season.

Scotland will present an interesting match-up for the Americans as the emerging womenâ€™s soccer nation was recently promoted to the upper competitive tier in Europe and features 21-year-old team captain Julie Fleeting, who plays in the WUSA with the San Diego Spirit.

â€œItâ€™s been wonderful to see a Scottish player come over and do well in this league,â€ said Spirit and U.S. captain Julie Foudy. â€œFrom playing with Julie, I know that womenâ€™s soccer in Scotland is growing and I know they will be very committed to the match and eager to prove themselves.â€

The match will be the third appearance for the U.S. Women at Columbus Crew Stadium. The USA defeated South Korea 5-0 on Oct. 3, 1999, in a post-Womenâ€™s World Cup match and lost to Canada, 3-1, on November 11, 2000, in a match following the Sydney Olympics. The U.S. team was scheduled to play Japan at Crew Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, but the tragic events of that day caused the cancellation of that match and eventually the rest of the 2001 Nike U.S. Womenâ€™s Cup.